DR. HOOK: Cover to Cover

Norma Cecilia Tanega (born January 30, 1939) is an American folk and pop singer-songwriter, painter, and experimental musician. She wrote songs for Dusty Springfield and other prominent musicians.

Norma's impetus for her first single, "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog", came from living in a New York City apartment building that didn't allow dogs, so she kept a cat instead, named the cat "dog" and took the cat out for walks. The single's success landed her appearances on American Bandstand and Where the Action Is, and also a slot as the only woman on a North American tour with Gene Pitney, Bobby Goldsboro, Chad and Jeremy and The McCoys.

"Walkin' My Cat Named Dog" went on to be an international hit in 1966, peaking at number 22 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Charts, and entered Canada's top 10.

Here's Norma singing the song she wrote:

Ray Sawyer (February 1, 1937 – December 31, 2018) was one of the two lead singers, (Dennis Locorriere being the other), of the band, Dr. Hook. At the height of their success, they were at the top of the charts in 42 countries, and collected 60 gold and platinum singles and albums.

Dr. Hook recorded a cover of "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog" on November 27, 1978 at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. However, it didn't make it to an album until the 3-CD set, Pleasure and Pain – The History of Dr. Hook was released in 1996.

Here's Ray on lead:

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia.)

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